For A Greater Purpose
by IcEKoLd
Summary: Originally sent on a voluntary mission, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Naruto find that the village of their destination is under more pressure than just poverty. Takes place after the timeskip.
1. Team Makeup

**Title**: For A Greater Purpose 

**Summary**: Originally sent on a voluntary mission, Izumo, Kotetsu, and Naruto find that the village of their destination is under more pressure than just poverty. Takes place after the timeskip.

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto_ is copyright to Kishimoto, and this remains true for the entirety of this story.

**A/N: **Keep in mind this story only goes as far as this mission.

_Note: Italics denote mental thinking._

* * *

Tsunade's fingers rapped at the desk as she leaned her head in the other hand. It had been a while since she sent Shizune to gather the four chuunins for her. A knock at the door signaled her attention. 

"Come in."

The door creaked open as the four chuunins she requested stepped in with Shizune. Izumo, Kotetsu, Iruka, and Shikamaru.

"Ah, there you all are." She said picking up a stack of papers on her desk. "This is something different from other ordinary missions I would give you. It's also a voluntary mission, so if you choose not to do it I'll understand."

The chuunins remained silent as Tsunade made her way around the desk and handed the stack of papers to Shizune, who in turn handed the papers out to each of them.

"On these you will find the name of a village under severely poor conditions. It is my thinking that by pouring some time and work into these villages that we can initiate a strong relationship with them, thus helping us out in future needs."

Shikamaru looked up from his paper. "That's it?" The Hokage nodded and Shikamaru sighed. _Man how troublesome, but on the other hand I don't mind taking a week off teaching_. "It's been a while since I've left the village. Count me in." Tsunade eyed the others and they nodded as well.

"Alright. I'm going to pair you up to work in different villages. Kotetsu and Izumo. Iruka and Shikamaru. I want you to take one genin of your choosing with you. Head out as soon as you can." With that they were dismissed.

Tsunade eyed one of her chuunins. "Izumo. I want to talk to you." Kotetsu nodded to Izumo and left with the others.

"I want you two to take Naruto with you. I don't care if he doesn't want to go, I think he'll benefit the most from this."

Izumo's brow wrinkled in confusion, but he nodded.


	2. Day One: Tragedy of War

Note: _Italics denote mental thinking._

* * *

"Man, I can't believe that old hag gave me a _D_ rank mission! I could be getting stronger, but instead I'm sitting my bum on a _D_ rank mission!" Naruto slapped his bum for emphasis and continued to ramble on. Izumo and Kotetsu began to dread the long week ahead of them if this was what they were going to be hearing the whole time.

Kotetsu whispered to Izumo, "Remind me again why you wanted to bring him?"

Izumo laughed, "To annoy you of course."

Finally Izumo, Kotetsu, and Naruto made it to the village. Naruto stopped complaining when he saw the dirt-covered faces of children with rags that were meant to clothe them standing at the village entrance. None of them had expected to come to a village as poor as this.

Izumo was the first to step out of the trance. With softened eyes he understood why Tsunade had really sent them out on a voluntary mission. These people really did need help, but their conditions provided no means to afford any help. He was more than happy to be here. Stepping forward to the children he bent down to their level and smiled. "Hi. I'm Izumo." The children then began to smile and chatter.

Kotetsu explained to Naruto, "I remember this village. Years ago you wouldn't have seen it this way, but a number of wars have scarred this small village. It looks like this is going to be a long week for us."

Naruto didn't say anything. Kotetsu glanced at Naruto who was staring down at his own feet. "You know Naruto, these kids have a lot in common with you. Many of them don't have parents they can remember. That's something you can share with them and give them some hope." Naruto looked up to the kids and Kotetsu noticed a trickle of water drop to the ground from him. Kotetsu only smiled. He knew Naruto would find a way.

The trio made their way into the village taking an account of all the burned down homes and scarcity of food. Izumo looked back to Naruto and Kotetsu. "The first thing we should start off with is setting up a garden."

Naruto nodded firmly. "I'll make the biggest and best garden ever! Dattebayo!" Izumo and Kotetsu smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm.

"Just keep in mind we only have a week here Naruto. We can only spend a day or two on the garden." Izumo reminded Naruto.

Staring straight ahead at the kids, Naruto firmly replied, "Then that's all I need."

After talking with the village's elders, the trio prepared their camp. Izumo set down his pack close to his tent. "I'll be back in a few. I just want to check on something."

Kotetsu threw some sticks in the fire and continued on with his tasks. "Just be careful. The village's defense is broken down, so anyone can come through here unnoticed." Izumo nodded and waved at the two as he walked off.

Naruto sat next to the fire with his knees tucked to his chest as he stared off into the woods. Kotetsu came over and handed him a stick with some cooked jerky on the end.

"I brought these with me for traveling, but seeing that there's not much food for the villagers, we best be on our own. A shinobi needs his strength."

Naruto nodded and thanked him. He watched as Kotetsu crawled off into his own tent.

"Shinobi." He said to himself as he stared at the piece of meat and ripped a chunk with his teeth. There was a new determination written in his eyes.

* * *

Izumo kneeled next to the river. He had to walk a good ways to get to it, but at least there was a river. Putting his hands in the water, he tested the purity by steadily pulsing his chakra. _Good._ He stood and began his trek back to the camp. 

Upon reaching the camp he saw the fire had been put out and guessed the others went to sleep. Deciding it would be safer to keep watch for the night, he decided to rest in a tree close by.


	3. Day Two: Mist

Note: _Italics denote mental thinking._

* * *

The sun's rays were beginning to peak out from the horizon when Izumo finished tearing down his tent. He walked up to Naruto's tent to wake him up but upon opening the flap he found that it was empty. "Huh...I didn't see him wake up." 

Behind him he could hear Kotetsu stifling a yawn. "Naruto?"

Izumo nodded and jumped up to the top of the tree he perched in last night and hopped back down with a confused look. Kotetsu turned to him after tearing down his own tent. "What?"

"The trees in the distant are down. I didn't hear them fall last night either."

"Think it's Naruto?"

"Maybe. Let's finishing packing and head over there."

Not knowing what to expect, Kotetsu and Izumo stealthily made their way into the clearing. As soon as Kotetsu saw a spot of orange in the center he laughed. Izumo shot him a glare, warning him to be quiet. "It's just Naruto, Izumo. Look." He pointed to the boy sleeping in the middle of all the fallen trees.

They made their way over to him. "He must have stayed up all night." Izumo said shaking him lightly.

"Well that won't do him good for today's work. At least he got some wood though. We can use these to build some of the village's homes." Izumo nodded. "Yea. We just have to _carry_ them back." Kotetsu groaned in response.

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He could feel slight tremors coming from the ground in an almost soothing rhythm. He sat up and yawned, feeling sore in his muscles at the same time. He recalled what he had done before falling asleep and that now he was somewhere besides the woods. "I guess I passed out." 

A girl with bright blue eyes peeked in when she heard his voice. "Hey there. Do you know here Kotetsu and Izumo are?" The young girl pointed somewhere outside. Quickly he shuffled to his feet and ran out to see the wood he had cut down put into two huge piles near the gate. He gawked when he saw Kotetsu pounding in some wood stakes with some kind of huge hammer that was practically as big as he was. "I guess that explains the tremors."

Izumo saw him standing there and walked up to him. "Yo Naruto. You're finally awake." Naruto's attention snapped to Izumo. "Uh, yea. I guess I was kinda tired." Naruto grinned.

"Kinda? You slept half the day." "WHAT!? I'm wasting time!" Naruto prepared to take off, but Izumo grabbed him by the collar before he could. "Hold it Naruto. I wanted to ask you how you chopped those trees down without making a commotion."

Naruto stopped struggling. "Oh. I've been working on my wind element and used it to cut down multiple trees at a time, then my bunshins caught the trees so they wouldn't fall hard. I didn't want to wake the village." Izumo just stared at him baffled. "Wind element." He smiled as his thoughts drifted back to Asuma, who had been the only wind master in Konoha. "That's good."

Now it was Naruto's turn to question Izumo. "Hey! Hey! How did you move all those trees here so quickly?"

Izumo smiled, "Water element." He winked as he pointed to a small river flowing outside the gate "We floated them down to the gate. The river will also help strengthen the village's defense." Naruto blinked. "You guys... sure can do a lot more than I thought you could."

"Oh?" Izumo smirked as he thought to himself, _Good thing Kotetsu didn't hear him say that.

* * *

_

Kotetsu finished the foundation of the group of houses and even started putting in posts for a fence around the village. Meanwhile Izumo used his water clones and Naruto used his shadow clones to get work done faster in the garden. Some of the curious children had gathered to watch them work using their skills.

As the day soon became dusk, a mist began to settle over the village. Izumo stood up and watched as it crept over the ground. _This is odd._ A lady with a worried voice called out to them while taking the children with her, "Quick! You must hide! If they find out shinobi are in this village they will kill you!"

Naruto's bunshins dispersed leaving him feeling exhausted. "What is she talking about?"

"I have a bad feeling about this mist. Let's get Kotetsu." Izumo's water clones splashed onto the ground as he dismissed them.

Kotetsu was crouching on one of the taller poles he set up for the gate. He heard Izumo and Naruto running towards him and jumped down to meet them. With a finger to his lips he signaled the others to be quiet. In a hushed tone he whispered to them, "A group of ninjas, may be eight in number, are headed this way."

Izumo nodded. "They must be from the Mist Village. I wonder what they're doing all the way out here."

Naruto growled. "This is too soon. We haven't even gotten the village's gate built. Are they just going to trample on in like they own this pla-- ?!" Izumo placed his hand over Naruto's mouth. "If you be quiet, we can have the element of surprise." Naruto sulked, but nodded, and Izumo removed his hand.

Kotetsu looked around for a place they could hide themselves. "Tch. Not much to hide ourselves in." Izumo thought for a moment. "We'll have to leave the village this way and maneuver ourselves around them. We can take them out one at a time from the rear." Naruto and Kotetsu nodded as they moved out.

* * *

The incoming ninjas stopped at the river near the village entrance. 

"Must have rained a lot." One of the ninjas said, noting the river.

Next to him stood a larger ninja. His silver hair pulled back and a patch covered one eye. He studied the river and saw how it came from the woods, carefully determining that this was not an ordinary river made from rain. The ground they had walked on was too dry and this river's direction seemed to have a purpose to come so close to the village entrance. Using his chakra, he stepped onto the water and crossed. The rest followed suite.

As they entered the village, the eye patched ninja also noted the piles of wood. One of the village elders stepped out into the clearing to meet them. "Please, we've given you all we had last week. Our food is so scarce we don't even have enough to feed our children!"

One of the ninjas grabbed the man by his collar. "We don't care!"

"Wait." The eye patched ninja said calmly. "Let me handle him."

"Ah, yes Kabuki."

Kabuki walked closer to the elder. "Who did all this?" He asked pointing to the work the trio had started on earlier.

The elder man's eyes widened. "Please don't hurt them."

"Answer me!" He grabbed the man's collar and shook him.

"I'll give you an answer old fart!" Naruto's voice rang out. The leader turned around to see only four of his men still standing.

Kotetsu slapped his forehead in disbelief. "Ugh." _Moron!_

Kabuki snarled at the orange clad boy who called him an old fart. "Get them!"

Naruto and Kotetsu slipped into a balanced fighting stance.

"Suiton: Teppodama!"

The four men charged, but one was lost to a sudden blast of water from the side.

"There's another one!" Kabuki yelled. This time he decided to step in. Tossing the old man to the side he began to form seals.

"Now I'll show you true water manipulation. Suiton: Suigadan!"

Kotetsu watched as sharp ice crystals formed around Izumo.

"Izumo!"

Two of the charging nins took this as an opportunity to attack and hurtled themselves towards Kotetsu. Caught off guard, he felt the graze of a kunai knife across his cheek.

Preoccupied with the ninjas attacking him, Kotetsu couldn't do anything to help Izumo.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto's shadow clone attacked his opponent as Naruto leaped over to attack Kabuki who was commanding the ice crystals to enclose in on the target.

Kabuki smirked when he saw the orange clad boy running in his direction.

"You're too late boy."

Naruto shoved him to the ground as he heard the cracking ice and screamed loud enough that his voice echoed throughout the village's surroundings. "_Nooo_!"

Naruto could feel a fire burning in his chest as rage took over him. "You..." He grabbed and lifted Kabuki by the collar. The one-eyed nin looked at his opponent differently.

"What... are you?" He didn't know what kind of fiery red-eyed beast he was staring at now. Naruto pulled his fist back and prepared to punch his daylights out, but stopped suddenly when he heard Izumo's voice.

"Naruto! Stop!" His rage began to subside and he could feel himself begin to swirl in darkness as the energy left him.

* * *

Suiton: Teppodama  
Water Release: Gunshot - Ball of compressed water shot from the mouth. 

Suiton: Suigadon  
Water Release: Water Fang Bullet - Creates circle of crushing water spikes around opponent, although the water is ice in this use.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu  
Shadow Clone Technique


	4. Day Three: Truth Be Known

Note: _Italics denote mental thinking.__

* * *

_

Kotetsu stayed in the tent with Naruto while he slept. Izumo imagined he'd be awake by morning, but a whole day had gone by and he was still sleeping. _He pushed himself too hard._

Izumo came to the entrance and opened the flap.

"Yo, Izumo. Find out anything?"

"Only that he hired some renegade ninjas to go plundering through small broken down villages like this one."

Kotetsu nodded. "I don't understand why the village elders didn't tell us they were being attacked regularly."

"Kotetsu." Izumo continued in a solemn voice, "This is a poor village that can't afford any protection from other villages. It was just luck that we came here on orders. I'll be back later to switch out with you. I'm going to check on the people I left at the garden. They seem to be learning well." Izumo smiled and closed the flap.

* * *

Naruto fluttered his eyes open. He looked around and saw Kotetsu sitting next to him carving something with his kunai. Suddenly a flash of the fight scene passed through his mind. He yanked the covers back and sat straight up. "Where's Izumo?! What happened?" Kotetsu stopped carving and looked at him. 

"You're a heavy sleeper, you know? Izumo's fine. He's teaching the people how to maintain the garden."

"But... the spikes? They hit him." Kotetsu continued his carving.

"It was just a water clone. You can relax. You should keep yourself in check more often though. Going into a berserk like that isn't safe for you."

Naruto stared at his hands. "I know. It just brought me back to when I thought Sasuke had died by Haku's ice mirror technique. I was sure I had lost him for good." The memory stung Naruto as it replayed in his mind.

"Hm. Well we only have two days left, so maybe you can find someone to give this to as a gift." He tossed the carving he made to Naruto and left the tent before Naruto could say anything else.

Holding it in his hand he saw a neatly carved leaf.

_Thanks_.


	5. Day Four: Ultimate Secrets & Farewells

Note: _Italics denote mental thinking.

* * *

_

The next day Naruto stepped out of the tent. Looking around he gawked at what had been done. The majority of the fence had already been put up and the garden was complete. He clenched his fists in frustration. "Is there nothing left for me to do?"

The blue-eyed girl that he had seen walk in his tent the day before walked up to him. He blinked in surprise when she spoke. "Are you okay mister?" Naruto's facial features softened. Grinning he replied, "I'm better. What's your name?"

"Kaisei."

* * *

Izumo had finished demonstrating to the men and women how they could use the kunai as a useful gardening tool. After the people were able to properly handle a kunai, Izumo showed them basic defense techniques a kunai could give them. This was easy for the men since most of them had been through wars in their younger days. 

Izumo decided to make his way to the prisoner's tent after he was pleased with what the people had learned. He smiled when he heard Naruto's muffled laughter under a pile of kids. The children were having so much fun with him and his shadow clones.

Izumo nodded to the elders standing outside of the Kabuki's tent.

"Izumo." One of the elders walked up to him. "What will you do with this man?"

"You won't have to worry about him anymore. We'll take him back to our village for interrogation."

"What if other ninjas come looking for him?" Another elder asked.

"Well, while this is unofficial business, I'd like to come back about once a week for at least a month. I'll need to talk to the Hokage first."

The elders bowed. "Thank you. I hope we can repay your kindness." Izumo bowed in return, then entered the tent that held their enemy.

Kabuki was bound in a steel cage created by Kotetsu. A seal had been placed around the cage to prevent him from using any techniques. The bound enemy looked up to his captor and snarled. Used to this kind of behavior from working at the prison, Izumo didn't flinch.

Slowly he kneeled down next to Kabuki and narrowed his eyes.

"While you sit there, do you think of what you've done to these people?"

There was no reply.

"You could make yourself useful around here." Kabuki looked up in disbelief. The calmness in Izumo's stare affirmed him that the Konoha ninja was not mocking him.

Ashamed, Kabuki turned his head to the side and stared off at the wall. "There is nothing I can do here. By now these people hate me." He narrowed his eyes as memories of his continual raids on the small towns took place. "They all do."

"You sound more willing to sulk about it than do anything." Izumo sighed. This guy was going to take some work to get through. He clapped his hands on his pant legs and stood up to leave.

"Wait." Kabuki's voice was low but pleading. "There might be something I can say to help."

Izumo rubbed his chin piece in thought. "Oh?"

"After this, I betray Orochimaru." Kabiku continued.

Sweat trickled down the side of Izumo's face. _Orochimaru._ _If he's involved then... what is he after? _He nodded to the prisoner to continue.

"I never talked to Orochimaru directly, so I don't know where he is. It was always through one of his subordinates. From what I do know is that he hired me and a bunch of other renegade ninjas after the attempt at crushing Konoha. There was a lot of things he promised us, like power." Kabuki's eyes seemed to glaze as he stared off at nothing in particular. "For those who resisted... well, no one heard from them again."

Izumo turned his back on the man after he finished. He was analyzing the turn of events and tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Of course. It makes sense."

Kabiku stared at the red circle on the back of Izumo's jacket. He didn't particularly understand what he was talking about. To him, there was no sense in any of this.

"We'll have to take you back to Konoha. The Hokage will want to know about this."

Kabuki snorted and crossed his arms. "_If_ you can get me there alive that is. There's always a backup just incase things go wrong. I don't expect to live much longer."

Izumo turned his head back to Kabuki. "Never underestimate a Konoha shinobi." With that he left the tent.

Kabuki's thoughts drifted back to the blond haired ninja he fought. He sighed and thought out loud. "That was my mistake."

* * *

Kotetsu was standing in the tower of the new gate when he heard Izumo call out his name. He made his way down and noted the concern on Izumo's face. "We have to leave tonight." 

"Why so sudden?"

We need to inform Hokage-sama about Orochimaru's intent."

Kotetsu narrowed his eyes. "Orochimaru!?" Izumo nodded. "I'll explain, but let's find Naruto first."

* * *

That night Naruto stood at the gate with his backpack as he waited for the others to arrive. He was the first one there since Izumo had told them why they were leaving that night. If Izumo was right, then Orochimaru was causing these smaller villages to be continually pillaged so that they would not grow to help Konoha when the time to attack came. Even if Izumo's assumption wasn't right, he still knew one thing was true; Orochimaru was involved. Naruto clenched his teeth as he tightened his grip on his backpack's straps. 

A few moments later Izumo and Kotetsu walked up to him. Izumo took one last glance back at the silent crowd. Kaisei stood at the front of the crowd clutching the leaf carving that Naruto had given her earlier that day. She watched as the three Konoha ninjas turned their backs and began their trek back home with Kabuki. They had all helped this village more than the village could ever repay, but she felt her heart sink when she saw the blond-haired ninja walk away.

"Naruto!" Kaisei called out with tears welling in her eyes.

Naruto turned to see her one last time. "Be careful!" Some of the tears streamed down her face.

Naruto grinned at her. "Aa! Don't worry about me!" Naruto stuck his thumb up in the air to reassure her. "I promise I'll come back one day!" Kaisei smiled. She felt a wave of happiness come over her. The crowd watched as the four ninjas walked away until they disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

* * *

**A/N: **Kaisei means resurrection.  
Now that they've left the village, the trip home is all that's left before this story's end. 


	6. Homeward Bound

**A/N:** Naruto, Izumo, and Kotetsu make their return to the village with the Mist Village ninja, Kabuki. The return will prove to have its own set of troubles, but the team won't have to face them alone. As the reader, you may consider this as the second arc, or part two, of the mission.

* * *

The three Konoha ninjas left the village that night with the Mist ninja. After leaving a good distance between them and the village, they huddled together to plan. 

Izumo crouched into the sand and ran his forefinger along the sand marking different shapes along the way. "This marks Konoha, and here we are. If Kabuki's right about the backup group, then they would be expecting us to take this path."

"So we should stay off the path." Naruto suggested.

"Almost. We don't want to underestimate them and think they'd only cover one area." Izumo explained. Seeing Naruto's blank face he sighed.

"Naruto, here's what I'll need you to do when the time comes, so listen up." Naruto nodded.

* * *

As the group of Konoha ninjas and Mist ninja continued their way along the path that night, the overcast clouds began to let loose a fury of water droplets. 

The Mist ninja's sandaled feet splashed next to Kotetsu's as they followed behind Izumo. "It's going to be a wet return." Kotetsu droned.

"Keep alert. We don't want to be surprised by the backup ninjas Kabuki mentioned." Izumo warned the others behind him.

"Hey! Hey! Why are we walking on this path? Won't they just find us easier?"

"I have to agree with Naruto. Normally we'd just take to the trees." Kotetsu ruffled his soaked black hair.

"Aa. Normally we would, and that's why we won't just yet." Izumo turned to Naruto who had his arms crossed and seemed deep in thought. "Naruto, remember what we talked about earlier? I need you to do it now."

"Aa!" Naruto straightened.

* * *

Six ninjas in black outfits with katanas strapped to their back crouched in the tree branches waiting for their targets to arrive. One of them put his hand up to his ear and spoke. "Should I scout ahead?" A few seconds later a voice crackled through his ear piece. 

"Go ahead, but do not pursue."

The ninja stood and passed through the trees. He stopped a little further down and removed a scroll from one of his pockets. From this scroll he summoned a small purple plant no bigger than his palm. He firmly planted it into the dirt and stepped back. The little plant seemed to move as though dancing to some unseen wind and finally opened several pods. From these pods, a cloud of pollen flew into the air and carried itself out into the damp night sky. Now all the ninja had to do was wait.

The cloud of pollen continued to travel through the trees, rustling leaves as it went by. It began to descend as it approached four figures heading in its direction. Three ninjas surrounded Kabuki, whom had his hands tied to the front.

The black-dressed ninja snapped his eyes open. He put his hand to his ear and informed the others, "I found them. They're coming towards us."

"We're coming to you now."

* * *

When the first figure with hair covering one side of his face was in view, one of the hidden ninjas removed a thorned whip and latched it around his target's neck. "Kch!" 

The other approaching ninjas were also apprehended by the other plant fighting ninjas. One of the plant ninjas walked up to Kabuki and scrunched his eyebrows together. "Kill them all." Just as the other ninjas who had apprehended the group made their finishing move, a puff of cloud covered their victim's body. "Shadow clones?! We've been tricked! Find them now!" The group of the plant ninjas set out once again.

* * *

Naruto continued to walk steadily behind Kotetsu and Kabuki with his hands behind his head. "I still think walking on the path is more dangerous." Naruto pouted. Suddenly he snapped his eyes open and slowed his pace. "Or not." 

Izumo glanced back to Naruto. "Did they already find you?" Naruto nodded. He had used his bunshins to disguise as the group and sent them out through the forest. Naturally, when his bunshins dispersed Naruto was able to learn everything that his bunshins had encountered.

"They use plants, and they're well hidden in black outfits." Kabuki gave a side glance to Naruto. He had heard of this backup team and for them to be sent would only mean that Orochimaru had planned on eliminating him for his failure rather than retrieve him.

Kotetsu flipped a kunai in his hands. "Let them come. We'll be ready for them." Izumo nodded. "Reinforments should arrive soon."


	7. Let The Rumble Begin!

_Note: Italics denote mental thinking._

_

* * *

_

The four alert ninjas shuffled along. "Everyone ready?" Izumo asked the others in a low voice. The others nodded.

Three ninjas dropped in front of the group and three more behind them. Kotetsu, Izumo, and Naruto formed a circle around Kabuki as they readied themselves in a balanced stance. One of the ninjas standing in the front walked closer.

"So which one of you is it that used the shadow clone technique?" The ninja's voice carried an annoyed tone. Izumo and Kotetsu said nothing, but Naruto couldn't keep quiet and snorted. Kotetsu shook his head in disbelief and Izumo sighed. The black outfitted ninja approached Naruto and grabbed his collar.

"What's so funny?" He asked Naruto while removing his katana. The other ninjas proceeded to do the same. "This isn't going to end up the same as last time."

The other ninjas charged in to attack the group as well. "Now!" Izumo yelled. Three of the ninjas stopped advancing with puzzled looks. "What the...?"

"Well, you're right about that." A hidden ninja stepped out from the shadows. His brown hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and a distinguishable scar ran across his nose. "This won't end up like last time."

The bound ninjas slowly started walking forward as another ninja from the shadows revealed himself. This one had dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail and had a rather lazy expression. He walked up to his comrade. "We'll take care of these."

Kotetsu faced his chosen opponent, twirling his kunai. "Aa. I'll give you the signal." Izumo, Kotetsu, and Naruto taunted their opponents by attacking once then headed off in three different directions. The one fighting Naruto yelled to the others, "Don't let them get away!" One ninja pursued each of the retreating forms.

Kabuki sighed. "I guess I'm stuck with you guys." A young kid's voice replied, "And what's that supposed to mean?" A younger boy jumped down from one of the trees. "Incase you didn't know, I'm Konohamaru, and I'm going to be the seventh Hokage of Konoha, so what could be so bad about that?!" Kabuki's eyebrow twitched. The little boy reminded him so much of Naruto, both in features and feisty attitude. "Everything." Kabuki groaned.

Shikamaru sighed. "At least everything is going according to plan. Iruka, they're yours now." Iruka smirked as the three ninjas clumsily fell forward when Shikamaru released his shadow binding technique on them. "Come with me Kabuki." Kabuki and Konahamaru followed Shikamaru off into the woods.

The three ninjas stared at their new opponent. Iruka spread his feet apart into a balanced fighting stance. "This should be fun." The three ninjas didn't share the same enthusiasm, but rather seemed nervous.

* * *

Kotetsu gracefully parried his opponent's weapon with his own. Kotetsu grinned as he noted the hesitation in his opponent's moves. Combat with weapons was his specialty after all. He quickly maneuvered his other hand to attack his opponent, but the ninja saw this coming and leaped into a tree above him. Kotetsu threw shurikens at his target's feet, but only met the tree's branch as the ninja flew into another tree and immersed his body into it. 

Panting heavily the ninja looked down to Kotetsu from the tree. "He's skilled at close combat I see, but I wonder how good he'll be at long ranged combat." The ninja smirked and placed his hands together as he released chakra.

Kotetsu stared up into the dark trees. The rain clouds had cleared and the moonlight was bright, but the ninja knew how to hide himself well enough in the tree's darkness. He waited for his opponent to make a move. Suddenly the earth began to rumble and something green began to break from the ground around his feet. Just before he could jump away a large vine wrapped itself around his ankle and continued to grow upwards as it coiled around his body. Kotetsu didn't have time to think how to react or he would be suffocated in a short time, so instinctively he removed his scroll from his pouch just before the plant could wrap itself over it. With one free hand he summoned two large kunai-shaped swords and cut his other arm free and eventually freed himself. He rolled away from the plant before it could wrap itself around him again.

"You're quick, but not quite nimble enough." The ninja's laughter could be heard from within the tree leaves above him. Three more vines emerged from the ground, surrounding Kotetsu. This would be a test of stamina on Kotetsu's part, but he still had a way out if he needed to use it.

* * *

Izumo flattened himself against the bark of the tree. He knew they could use the plants to find him, so he was at a disadvantage being in the middle of a plant-filled forest. He stared at the plants on the ground in a suspicious manner, as if any of them were a ninja in disguise just waiting for him to drop his guard. 

He closed his eyes and let a steady breath out. _Just calm down._ He used his ears to focus on sounds. Leaves rustling, wind blowing, rodents crawling, owls hooting, critters chirping, and water gurgling. _Water._ Izumo managed to suppress a smirk. If he could reach the water, then he would have an advantage against his foe. He only hoped the others were faring well.

* * *

Naruto bit his lower lip as he stood in the center of the clear opening. Waiting for his opponent to show himself was giving him more stress than he had imagined it would. Sweat droplets trickled down the side of his face. Had the enemy even followed him there? 

A figure stepped out from the shadows. Naruto unconsciously slid his hand into his weapon pouch. The moonlight reflected off the black hood and clothing. He removed his katana as he continued walking towards Naruto who removed two kunai from his pouch.

"I propose a duel. A match to see who stands up the longest." The katana struck the ground and the ninja walked in a square pattern around Naruto. "This will be our border."

Naruto, being one who never let a challenge go by, smiled at this. They both leaned forward facing each other. "Let's begin!"


	8. Final Fight

_Note: Italics denote mental thinking._

* * *

Shikamaru sat down, leaning against the bark. Konohamaru sat a little ways away nervously picking at the grass in front of him. Kabuki sat across from the tired Shikamaru who yawned while stretching his legs out and resting his arms behind his head. Kabuki watched him calmly rest against the tree. Nothing was more frustrating to him than having a "bodyguard" rest on the job. 

"Aren't you even worried?" Kabuki asked in an irritated manner. Shikamaru shrugged and replied, "What for?"

"Tch." Kabuki jerked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular.

Shikamaru peeked one eyelid open. "Relax. Iruka will soon finish off those three. Besides, if anyone gets past him, they have to get past me first to get to you, even if it is a pain."

"That's what worries me." Kabuki mumbled. Shikamaru ignored his comment.

Shikamaru hadn't heard any kind of signals from Kotetsu, or anyone else for a while and that had been the only concern on his mind. He was more willing to go and help them out, but instead he had to be troubled with this guy who could well look after himself.

As though reading his mind, Kabuki casually glanced at Shikamaru and commented on the others. "Haven't heard anything from them."

Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked up to the barely visible sea of stars. "I've been on missions with all of them and I know they can work well as a team."

"Well they split up, remember?" Shikamaru said nothing in response.

After a while Iruka jumped down from the trees next to them dusting his hands as he stood up. "That takes care of the rest of them. We should go look for the others." Shikamaru nodded as he, Konohamaru, and Kabuki rose. "Where to?" Kabuki asked.

As though answering his question, an explosion in the distance caught their attention. Shikamaru smirked. "Looks like Kotetsu is right on time." The trio took off in the direction of the cloud of smoke.

* * *

Kotetsu's vision blurred slightly as he stared into the trees. Fire consumed the leaves. Finally, a dark and tainted figure plummeted to the ground from above. The vines holding Kotetsu's arms and legs loosened their gripped and fell at his feet. 

Kotetsu grimaced as he attempted to move toward the fallen ninja. Instantly he moved his hand over his leg. The sticky substance hinted at how deep the lacerations were. It had been the consequence of holding off as long as possible before resorting to the exploding tags. He was able to secretly place them on the ninja's back while they were fighting up close without notice. Izumo had told him to use this as a location detector after a while to ensure enough time has passed in eliminating the other ninjas. _That should have been long enough._

The sound of feet meeting bark alerted him to someone's arrival. If he timed the explosion right, that would be the sound of his comrades, and not more enemies. Relieved, he saw Iruka land on the ground close to the body as he bent down to check the body. "Two more to go and we can head home." "Finally." Kotetsu replied wearily as he popped a soldier pill into his mouth.

* * *

Izumo stood on the water. His opponent stood across from him on the ground. If someone were to walk in on them now they would have thought they were having a staring contest. 

The plant ninja crossed his arms. "Why don't you come off that water, boy?" Izumo smirked. The enemy had just given away his own weakness. He needed to be near the ground to use his techniques.

"Are you afraid of water?" Izumo mocked.

The ninja narrowed his eyes. "You sure are an annoying brat. I guess I'll have to make you come out myself." He slapped his hands together and wrapped his forefingers around each other. "Chiri bunshin no jutsu."

The dirt around the ninja began to clump together and rose to his height. Four dirt clones appeared. As the four clones ran over the water to him, Izumo released the chakra flowing from his feet and fell into the water. The clones stood above the water where their target slipped under.

"AH!" One of the clones fell into the water as Izumo grabbed his ankle and jerked him down. The clone dispersed in the water and became mud. The darkened water made it hard for the other three clones to see through the water. Each of them removed their katanas and began stabbing them through the water.

The ninja on shore clenched his fists at his dumbstruck clones. "_Fools! _BEHIND YOU! He's _behind_ you!" The clones turned too late. Behind each of them appeared a water clone of Izumo. The ninja widened his eyes. "A water-based shinobi. This could be bad."

He backed up, ready to sneak away, but something wet impeded him. He felt the prompt probe of something sharp behind his back. "Going somewhere?"

"How...?" The ninja stared out as he saw his clones collapse into the water. He didn't plan on going down without a fight, but this was unexpected. "You were distracted." That was all the ninja remembered before he felt a thud on the back of his head.

* * *

Later Izumo made his way into the same clearing as Naruto and noticed everyone was there. Upon entering, Kotetsu guffawed as he took note of Izumo's drenched uniform. Meanwhile, Iruka was infuriated that Naruto refused anyone to help in his battle. 

"Narutoooo!" Iruka yelled shaking his fist. "This isn't a game!" Iruka rolled up his sleeves and started running towards the two fighters.

"Iruka, stop!" Naruto warned wide-eyed. His opponent smirked. The ground between Iruka and them shook violently causing Iruka to stop. The ground around him began to stretch apart.

"Iruka! Come back!" Kotetsu shouted, but suddenly the ground around Iruka collapsed and the only thing holding him back from falling was the slither of his shadow.

Shikamaru was crouching close to the ground with his hands clasped together. "Luckily..." Shikamaru strained to hold onto Iruka. "Luckily, the sun's started to rise." Just enough light emitted through the trees to cast shadows over them.

Slowly Shikamaru stood up and walked backwards, causing Iruka to step back from plummeting down into darkness. Iruka gulped as he was released from Shikamaru's hold. For now he would have to stay on the pillar of dirt he stood on.

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Jeez. This is more troublesome than I wanted it to be."

After Naruto was sure that Iruka was safe, he then focused his attention on his opponent. "Leave them out of this."

His opponent's expression became serious. "It's just between you and me now." He unclipped his black cloak and removed it to reveal a more earthly toned outfit. He tossed the black outfit out of their made up arena and let it fall into the darkness of the earth. "From here on out, you shall know me as Daichi."

Naruto took a deep breath and slid into a balanced fighting stance. He didn't know what his opponent was capable of, but at least he knew he could manipulate the earth. His hands flew into the ever so familiar pattern of his favorite technique. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Two clones appeared at his side.

From the distance Kabuki studied them. He wondered if Naruto would turn into the same monster he had before when he fought him. If those two managed to distract each other, then there would be a possibility that he'd only have to fight three ninjas if he wanted to run away. The one on the pillar wouldn't be able to help anyway. Out of the corner of his unpatched eye, he studied the three ninjas that were now focusing on the fight. They probably wouldn't even notice him if he slipped away. Quietly, he took one step back.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The spiky-haired ponytail ninja spoke without looking back to him.

"Three would be way too many for you to handle, don't you think?" The water-based ninja standing next to him added in without looking back either.

"Or I could just pound you into a pancake." The spiky, black-haired weapons ninja said coolly, glancing back at the now extremely nervous mist ninja.

* * *

The bunshins charged Daichi at full speed. Daichi stayed on the defense for a while, blocking each of his opponent's strikes. One of the bunshins went in for a punch to the face and Daichi side stepped while throwing a kick to the clone, causing it to disperse. Naruto watched as he finished off the second one. Instead of charging in, as his usual habit, he had used the clones to study Daichi's tactics. They both seemed to be doing the same thing as neither of them had exerted much effort, but things were just beginning to warm up. 

They both charged at each other this time. The others watched as a flurry of exchanged blows were made and kunais flew into the air. Shikamaru heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him. Konohamaru 's worry for Naruto had every hair on his neck standing up.

"Hey kid, you ok?" Kotetsu asked Konohamaru. No response. His worry-filled gaze was on the battle at hand with his hands balled into little fists. "Konahamaru?"

The young boy blinked his attention back to his comrades when he felt someone's hand touch his shoulder. Looking to his side he saw the Mist Village ninja stare at him through his one eye. "You don't have to worry about Naruto. He's tougher than he looks, and underestimating him would be a mistake."

Izumo smirked when he heard this, but he was glad the boy accepted this as he nodded. His features were still filled with concern, but not with worry.

* * *

Daichi fell to one knee, panting heavily. He acknowledge that his opponent was strong and that if the last attack had made its way to him that he would've been knocked unconscious. He side glanced behind him to see Naruto slowly push himself to a standing position. Gulping, he realized that this Naruto boy had a bottomless pit of chakra supply and it wasn't leaning in his favor. He desperately looked around for a way out. Darting his eyes back and forth he finally found it. 

Naruto stood wavering. His last attack had taken a huge portion of chakra and he could feel his knees trembling, daring to drop him to the ground again. He gritted his teeth. _So close. _He glanced at Daichi from the corner of his eye who was staring off at something else. His mind flashed back to when he fought Kabuki at the village and how Kotetsu warned him that using the Kyuubi's chakra was dangerous to him. _I have to fight this on my own._

Daichi looked back to Naruto who was staring back at him looking ready for another attempt. Smirking, he too slowly stood up. "I think this will be the last move from either of us. Don't waste your chakra now." Before Naruto could make his move, Daichi quickly launched his hands into a flurry of hand motions. His lips twitched and spread out into a sinister grin.

Kotetsu stood with his arms crossed watching him. "Izumo..." Izumo's eyes widened, "That technique!"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at Daichi. "So many... hand seals..."

Shikamaru stared at Iruka who was crouching down on the pillar of dirt. "What about him?"

Just as he said this Izumo pumped chakra into his feet and sprinted to jump where Iruka was. Kotetsu and Shikamaru were surprised to see him do it, but what surprised them more was the flash of Kabuki running past them to jump as well. Iruka cocked an eyebrow at Kabuki suspiciously as he landed on the pillar with them. Izumo only glanced back to him and nodded. Izumo and Kabuki spread their feet apart and began their techniques, only hoping to finish before Daichi did.

"Doton: Dotryudan."

The ground began to shake furiously around the plant ninja. A spout of dirt shot up into the sky in the form of a dragon's face entailed by a very long neck. The dragon's face looped back downward and headed towards the pillar that Iruka stood on.

"Suiton: Aisjinheki!"

Kotetsu recognized that the technique Kabuki and Izumo were using was something that Izumo had practiced, but not used in battle before due to its higher use of chakra. As water gushed in front of them he recognized it as something he had seen higher level ninjas use to create a water barrier to protect the user from any attacks, except this technique transformed the water into ice.

The dragon's head slammed into the ice barrier. The head shattered into small masses of earth as it hit the ice, but the length of the dragon's neck seemed infinite as it kept coming out of the earth. The ice around the impacted area slowly began to crack under the constant pressure.

Iruka noted the overcoming weariness as the two water-based nins struggled to keep the wall up. _Naruto do something!_

As if on cue, Naruto's shout rang out. "Rasengan!"

The constant barrage from the earth dragon ceased. The last thing Iruka saw when he looked up was a bright blue aura emanating from Naruto's palm. As the aura disappeared, he saw that Daichi was not there. At first he thought the plant ninja had escaped, but when he saw Naruto's sad expression staring down into the darkness, he knew that Daichi had fallen.

Izumo dropped to his knees panting hard. Kabuki was also exhausted, but not quite as worn out.

"First time using that technique?" Izumo looked up to the somewhat blurry figure, but didn't find the energy to respond. Kabuki smirked. "Nice."

* * *

Notes: These techniques are not in Naruto, but made up based on existing techniques from Naruto. 

Chiri Bunshin No Jutsu  
_Dirt Clone Technique._

Doton: Dotryudan  
_Earth Release: Earth Dragon Blast_. Similar to Water Dragon Blast technique that requires 54 hand seals to perform, except made of earth instead of water. The user creates a dragon's head and neck made from the earth and directs it towards a target. Offensive B-rank.

Suiton: Aisjinheki  
_Water Release: Ice Encampment Wall_. Similar to the Water Encampment Wall technique, except that it uses ice instead of water. This creates a barrier to protect the user from any offensive attacks. The ice is created from water the user spits out and then frozen. Defensive B-rank.

**A/N: **Hopefully no one dies from the wall of text.

* * *

Daichi - large/great earth/land 


	9. The Sun Also Rises

_Italics denote mental thinking._

* * *

Understanding that their enemies had been defeated, Kabuki examined their surroundings. "So." He began in a flustered tone of voice. "How are we supposed to get off this pillar?" 

Naruto stared down into the oblivion of darkness below him. His thoughts reflected on the battle in the last stage. Had Izumo and Kabuki not intervened, he would have lost control of his emotions and been vulnerable to the Kyuubi in him. What really troubled Naruto was the expression on his opponent's face after being hit with the Rasengan. _He was smiling, as though thanking me. Was he planning on this from the start?_ Naruto shook his head in disbelief.

"Naruto, heads up!" Kotetsu's warning snapped him out of the daze in time to catch the rope at the end. He tied the rope to a kunai and stuck it deep in the earth. He toiled his hands and legs around the rope and began working his way across the gap. Izumo, Kabuki, and Iruka were doing the same.

* * *

The return home had been a quiet one. Even the usually loud blond-haired boy seemed to be deep in thought. Naruto glanced at the Mist ninja trekking along ahead of him. His mind drifted back to the village they had left. He didn't know if Tsunade would ever send him that way again, but he promised Kaisei that he would return – somehow. _I promise I'll come back some day._

Somewhere beside him Konohamaru and Iruka's tap on the tree bark could be heard, indicating that they were keeping up. A scowl crossed Konohamaru's features every now and then as his memories of being put to sleep during the last fight would surface. He had a startling wake as he realized someone was carrying him and instantly tried to fight himself off, nearly landing him on the ground fifty feet below. Naruto had explained to him what happened as he intently listened. The silent return ensued after he finished the explanation.

Izumo and Kotetsu each traveled on Kabuki's sides. They were grateful for his assistance in the fight, but it would be foolish to trust him completely. Ahead of them Shikamaru leaped through the branches, scouting for anything suspicious. He could already see the top of Konoha's main gate. Soon they would be home. Everyone was tired since rest was short.

Once they got to the clearing, the group jumped to the ground and proceeded to the gates. Two chuunins sat in the guard house. One was sleeping while the other read a book with his head propped up on one hand, occasionally looking up to note any visitors. He glanced up at the group of ninja coming through the gate and nudged his sleeping partner.

"Hey, hey! Wake up! Am I dreaming or is that Izumo and Kotetsu we replaced?"

The sleepy headed one peeled an eye open and stared at the battle worn group walking by. "I think so." The other ninja sniffled. "Hey, are you crying?"

"I've never been so happy!"

The sleepy ninja rolled his eyes and put his head back down.

* * *

**_  
BAM! BAM! BAM! _**

Tsunade's head shot up as she quickly used her sleeve to wipe any drool from her lips, smearing the ink imprinted on the side of her cheek.

"Come in…" She said rather groggily. Four chuunin, two genin, and a mystery ninja filed through the door. Shikamaru noted the smeared ink on her cheek and cleared his throat. Catching her attention he slyly pointed to his own cheek. She quickly rubbed off the excess ink before anyone else caught on to her deranged appearance.

Izumo stepped forward and detailed her with the mission report and its side trouble. Tsunade listened patiently as he continued on and remained silent for a while after he finished. She looked over her crew and noted their disheveled status and closed her eyes.

She pondered on the words regarding Kabuki's actions. Though Kabuki may have had good intentions at the end, she could not let it slide that he worked for Orochimaru.

"Izumo. Kotetsu. Send Kabuki over to ANBU. I'll be there shortly. The rest of you are dismissed."

"Ah Tsunade-sama." Izumo interjected as the others left. "I'd also like to request that I be able to return to the village on a weekly basis for at least a month to check on their status." Tsunade nodded in approval. "I've been thinking the same."

Naruto's head poked out from the door. "Hey hey! Me too!"

Tsunade looked surprised at Naruto. "I'm glad you feel that way Naruto, but I can only send one. I will keep you in mind if a mission ever comes up near there."

Naruto was about to start complaining, but Iruka quickly yanked him back through the doorway and thanked Tsunade on the way out. "Let's get some ramen Naruto!" He didn't have to convince Naruto of leaving after that, as he was already high tailing it.

As Kotetsu and Izumo led Kabuki to the ANBU headquarters, Kotetsu commented how the spunky boy really did have a big heart for the kids in the village. Izumo nodded in agreement. "It's really something how he gives hope to others."

Unexpectly Kabuki replied. "Sometimes the bravest thing of all is to hope." Kotetsu and Izumo nodded in agreement.

* * *

**A/N: **That's a wrap up for this mission, but count on a continuation that will entail new adventures with the return to the village. Let's just say that it's where dreams come true, including nightmares. 


End file.
